Item - 2025.TE24.69

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council prohibit northbound left-turns at all times at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Lennox Street.

2. City Council prohibit southbound right-turns at all times at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Lennox Street.

3. City Council direct that Bathurst Street and Lennox Street be returned to pre-construction traffic and parking regulations upon the reopening of Markham Street north of Lennox Street.

4. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services to take additional temporary traffic control measures as required to prevent illegal southbound motor vehicle traffic turning from Lennox Street onto the one-way northbound section of Markham Street, south of Lennox Street.

This letter is to direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, to install additional temporary traffic control devices in order to prevent illegal southbound motor vehicle traffic turning from Lennox Street onto the one-way northbound section of Markham Street south of Lennox Street, until Markham Street re-opens to general traffic, between Lennox Street and Bloor Street.

Markham Street, between Lennox Street and Bloor Street West has been closed for five years. It was scheduled to reopen to general traffic by the summer of 2024. In 2023, Lennox Street west of Markham Street became one-way eastbound, as part of the installation of safer cycling infrastructure, and in order to direct traffic from the Westbank development away from the interior of the Palmerston community.

As result, vehicles entering Lennox Street from Bathurst Street quickly encounter a dead end: they cannot physically go north on Markham Street, and they cannot legally go west on Lennox Street or south on Markham Street. Some turn around, but large numbers of vehicles drive illegally south on Markham Street, which is a one-way northbound street. This creates a serious safety hazard on Markham Street, especially for pedestrians.

This hazard is particularly acute in the summer, when children play outside. Markham Street north of Lennox Street was supposed to be open by June 2025 at the latest, but the opening has been again delayed to September 2025. Traffic enforcement has advised that they are too thinly stretched to be able to effectively protect the children of Markham Street from this dangerous illegal behavior. The only remaining option is to implement turn restrictions at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Lennox Street in order to prevent vehicles from entering Lennox Street from Bathurst Street until Westbank reopens Markham Street north of Lennox Street.

It may also be desirable to convert Lennox Street west of Markham Street back to two-way traffic operation, but this requires community consultation that is not yet complete.